Inspired by the incredible courtship / mating ritual of the Bald Eagle…
The Dalliance of the Eagles by Walt Whitman waltwhitman.com
“Skirting the river road, (my forenoon walk, my rest,)
Skyward in air a sudden muffled sound, the dalliance of the eagles,
The rushing amorous contact high in space together,
The clinching interlocking claws, a living, fierce, gyrating wheel,
Four beating wings, two beaks, a swirling mass tight grappling,
In tumbling turning clustering loops, straight downward falling,
Till o’er the river pois’d, the twain yet one, a moment’s lull,
A motionless still balance in the air, then parting, talons loosing,
Upward again on slow-firm pinions slanting, their separate diverse flight,
She hers, he his, pursuing.”
Excerpt from: ‘Death Spirals’ Of Love: The Fascinating Behavior Of North Carolina Bald Eagles
“Among the rituals she has witnessed is one called a ‘death spiral,’ where a pair of bald eagles plummet to the earth with their talons entwined to test each other’s compatibility as a mate.”
A scene from The Big Year
It can be incredible, going back in time.
Revisiting those places you’ve been can offer so much insight.
For this song, I was taken into a place of ‘open vulnerability‘. I’ve been called emotionless, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m a great compartmentalizer. What does that mean? I could choose to feel, what I wanted to feel, whenever I wanted to feel it…or NOT! Let’s be real, because if you can’t be real with yourself, who can you be real with? It is a learned coping mechanism.
At this point I had already started my journey, walking the pathway towards my authentic voice. I already knew that I wanted to take a songwriter’s journey, but I also knew I was not in a place to let others truly see the real me. That includes me, looking at myself.
I joined (Brothers Koren) ‘The Playground’ to ‘prime the pump’.
There were a lot of old emotions, and new emotions that emerged. But let’s fast forward to the moment of this song.
The weeks leading up to it were laden with audio journal entries of love, lust, despair, enchanted joy, disillusionment, and just about everything in between.
Until, as one entry states, Everything Shatters.
My Songwriter’s Journey had started roughly two weeks before the song downloaded, but I was already emotionally primed.
During the Playground sessions, we were given ‘weekly game play’. The games were generally chords posted on the site, and we could do whatever we wanted with them. Usually, I would immediately write something to the chords, it just flowed. But for the two weeks prior to the song unfolding, I chose to close myself off. Things had shattered for me.
You wouldn’t know it by my decision to post online, but I’m a very private person. So of course no one knew where I was emotionally…unless they listened to my audio journal.
THE LYRICS AND MELODY CAME TOGETHER
09/16/22
Swaying In The Trees
09/16/2022
I love swinging in the hammock, looking at the sky above. On the day this song downloaded, I saw two eagles flying overhead. As I watched them, I became overwhelmed with emotion. I immediately thought of the stories I’d heard about the courtship ritual of bald eagles. I loved the thought of it, how the female would choose her mate, based on his ability to ‘catch’ her. Now there is a lot more that goes into it, that dance of compatibility, but there the seed was planted.
I’m always called upon to catch other people, help them in their situations, but I also had to catch myself. Basically, we are talking about an issue of trust.
I pulled out my phone with the 09/12/2022 weekly chord play voice note. I put the audio on repeat, pulled out my pen and paper, and wrote what emerged in the moment.
The chorus came first. As I was watching the eagles, © Flying high, up in the sky, to my surprise, you caught my eye, came out. That really was a surprise, catching my eye (literally) is not an easy feat. Then, I thought of the death spiral, where eagles clutch talons, and cartwheel towards the ground, © Now, round and round, we cartwheel down, towards the ground, can you catch me? …they don’t always survive.
While thinking of the mating ritual and recent events, the first two versus came:
© Catch me if you can
Time feels like quicksand
Pulling me under
Please take my hand
Your grip is like magic
Loosening the bands
That tighten my chest
You help me expand
Then, a voice said…
…be open and vulnerable, let the rest come and write it down, even if it’s uncomfortable.
So, never intending anyone to see or hear the words, I allowed the rest to flow out…
© I’ve never known love
I chose to explore
There’s fear in my heart
But I can’t ignore
The world around me
Is a promise land
I can have it all
Please, catch me if you can
It was a cathartic moment for me. Just being authentically, me, allowing everything I was feeling, in that moment to just pour out. I immediately recorded the voice note of what I’d written while sitting outside. I had the chords playing on my phone and recorded the voice using my watch.
Here is an excerpt from the original download…
FUN to Explore:
My favorite pastime: Watching the Friends of Big Bear Valley Nest with Jackie and Shadow. Highly recommend supporting this great work. Big Bear Bald Eagle Nest
Can you believe a couple names I chose were runner ups? Amazing 💫
I know I am humanizing them, but this pair have shown some pretty spectacular unconditional love …and hilarious antics! I keep that YouTube feed open.
More Fun Visuals:
Bald Eagle Freefall Ritual posted by Keenan M. (great project)
Bald Eagles Mating Ritual posted by Inspiring Video (some great comments)
“Trust that the path you are on is divinely guided, and will always catch you…” ~ YÔLEE, USA
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